Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1887-03-31

tell; but the mate figured from the
wear and tear of the big lump of ice
that it had been weeks at sea- At any
rate, the bears seemed greatly ratified
at the sight of us. shrinking against the
wall and whining like dogs as soon as
fire was opened. They were both down
after seven or eight shots.
You will mind that the ship was TO
windward of the berg and two miles
away: We had pulled around to the
lee side, and were consequently out OF
sight of the vessel. We had downed
the bears and were looking for IA place
to make the boat fast in order to get at
the carcasses, when, as suddenly as ii
you had clapped blanket over it, the
sun was obscured, there was sharp
puff of wind, and next moment 1t
was showing as it only SHOWS off
dreary Cape Horn at the right season
of the year. The whole heavens
were overspread in no time. and
we could not see the water twenty feet
away. The ship had seen the squaD
gathering and fired guns for us before
we shot the bears, but the booming of
the waves around us had shut out all
other sounds. When 1 said that the
ship was to windward of the berg, and
that it was also dead calm, 1 meant
that she was on the side from which
the waves were running. We had
taken her bearings by compass as we
rounded the corner of the berg, and
now as the storm came on we settled
into our seats for Il strong pull. The
squat had come up with the run of the
| waves, so that as soon as We had
rounded the berg we found ourselves
f;.cing such whirl of snow as you can
scarcely imagine, while the waves be-
gan to take on their white crests and
to run with greater strength. We
knew that the ship could not remain
stationary, and that the chances of our
running across her in that storm were
not one in Il thousand; but every man
had shut his teeth ON the worst when
the mate brought out the bottle of
whisky from the stern locker and said:
"Now, lads, II pull at the bottle all
around. We are in an awkward fix, to
be sure. but I've been in far worse, and
am here to prove that l came out all
right. Give me strong stroke and
I'll put you aboard of the Vestal in half
an hour"
It was wonderful how much his
words cheered us up, and we sent the
boat ahead as if we had sighted n
whale. We had pulled good four
miles from the berg when Mr.. Wharton
| ordered us to cease rowing, and after q
drift of ten or fifteen minutes he said:
Lads, we have somehow missed the
ship, and must make the best of it.
The storm won't break for hours yet,
and our only hope is to. find the big
berg again and make fast under its lee.
Round with the boat, and let every
man keep up stout heart. "
He wasn't sure that he had the bear
ings Of the berg. being as we had
drifted away to the southwest. but after
q long and fatiguing pull. with the
furry so dense that we could not see a
boats length away, we finally heard
the breaking of the surf on the berg.
We then ran down its north face until
we turned the corner, and were soon at
the very shelf on which the bears laid
dead. Having been cruising among
the ice for weeks, our boat was pro-
| vided with ice anchors, and after lit
tie we made fast, Yeered the boat to
| q safe distance, and then rode
as nicely as you please. The water
under the lee of that great floating OBJ
stacle was as quiet as it would have
| been in the lee of hundred-ac ISL
and. IL WASH SO very cold, but we
had pulled away from the ship without
any preparation, and as the afternoon
wore away we found that our cramped
quarters were telling against us.
Feet, hands and limbs were benumbed,
and it was plain that we must
have exercise or we would soon be
| frostbitten. By the mates orders the
boat was Drawn into the berg, and we
! got out on secure footing and hauled
the craft after us. The mate then told
us to scatter along the shelf on which
the bears were lying and stretch our
legs and swing our arms, and while we
! were at this he Overhauled the stores
in the boat. When we finally gathered
around him again he announced that
he had found lantern and pint of
| oil. two hatchets, a harpoon. three mus
kets with powder and ball for about
twenty rounds, lot of matches, two
tins of ships biscuit, a keg of water,
and there was the whale line on its
reel, and the ice anchor to complete the
list. We moved along in body to
where the carcasses were lying, and ut
the projection which had stopped their
| further flight we began cutting a cave
in the ice. The berg was hard as ice
can freeze, but our hatchets and har-
pom had keen edges. and before dark
ness settled down, taking turns at the
work. we had cut out cavity seven or